Clean the dryer

 I hate it when people start a blog post by saying sorry I haven't posted much lately. But I do have a really good excuse.  My phones blog editor no longer works.  That makes posting to the blog very difficult.

 Topic for today is cleaning the dryer.  I go buy two rules: clean or replace the dyer vent every spring (lint for lent) and vacuum the lint out of the inside of the dryer every fall.  This fall was very busy so I didn't get to cleaning the dryer. I had a free thirty minutes today so I got to it.

Keep dryer lint cleaned is an important precaution that will avoid having your house burn down. So, unless you enjoy house fires? You need to get on a regular schedule for dryer maintenance.

To clean the dryer, step one is to unplug the electricity (or turn off the breaker).

Next, remove the cover. My cover is in the front

Vacuum every area you can get to. You will be amazed how much lint can build up in only a year!

When done, reassemble the dryer and plug it back into the electricity.

Disney Vacation Posts

Looking for the Disney Vacation Posts? Visit my Disney blog.

Toilet Chain

My kids approach flushing a toilet like it were an Olympic event. As a result, they bust the handles all the time. I keep a ready supply of extra handles on hand so I can get things fixed quick. But the annoying part is: they won't tell me the handle broke! It might sit that way for several days and not one will say anything!

I was sure I had a broken handle today.

Lets start with some Toilet 101 basics. You have a toilet handle

The handle works like a teeter totter: When you push down on one end, the other end (which is a stick inside the tank) raises.

Attached to this stick is a chain.

At the bottom of the chain is a flapper

Lets put it all together... You push down on the handle... the stick rises and pulls the chain with it. The chain lifts the flapper... causing the toilet to flush.

In my case today, the handle did not break as I suspected it had. Instead, the chain disconnected from the stick. I fished the chain out of the bottom of the tank and reconnected it. Life is good once again.

Dripping Shower - Delta 1400 shower

We have two Delta 1400 showers in tne house. One shower has been dripping for a while and has progressively gotten worse. When the second shower started dripping, I decided to do something about it.

My first challenge was with determining my model number. I found it under the handel: Delta 1400. You can contact Delta with tbe model number and they will send a replacement for free. All you have to do is install it!

I will cover tbe installation here.

Step one: Shut off the water to the shower. If your shower doesn't have a shut off? You'll have to shut off the water to the entire house. Remember; Righty tighty (close) and lefty loosey (open).

There is a round metal cover that tells Hot or Cold. Many instructions will tell you to remove the cover (as shown above). However, removing it will require you to recaulk it, and removal is not neccessary. I recommend you do not remove it.

 

Begin by removing the cap on the shower handle. There is a trick to this. The handle features an arrow to the right of the blue bar. On the complete opposite site of the dial (left of the red bar) there should be a place to wedge a flat screwdriver in to pop that cover off.

Once the cover is removed, you can take out the screw holding the handle, and then remove the handle.

 

 

The chrome cylinder cover will slide off. Don't use any tool on it because that will scratch it. Just grab ahold and kinda twist as you pull



There is a white plastic piece on the end that is going to fall off and get in your way, so, just proactively remove it and throw it away - you don't need it anymore.

 

Next, you have to remove the collar. Sometimes this can be removed by hand. Sometimes it get stuck and becomes a nightmare to remove.

 

If it gets stuck? Hit is with some PB Blaster and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.

 



 

You want to be careful that you don't damage the pipes behind the wall by torking it too hard. Put a good fitting pipe wrech on it, put some count-clock-wise pressure on the wrench, and then whack the hell out of the wrench with a hammer or another wrench. Eventually that collar will loosen and begin to turn.

 

Once the collar is off, you are remove the cartridge. The cartridge is held in place by rings that form a but of a suction, so, it will take some effort to pull it out.

I live to get a flat screw driver and help pry the cartridge out.

This picture shows the old cartridge. Just throw it away.

 

Next, clean the opening so the new cartridge can make a good fit

This picture shows the new cartridge

The cartridge will tell you which side is for the "Hot" side and which side is for the "Cold" side. When you insert the cartridge, you want to make sure you have the hot side on the hot side.

 

Insert the cartridge. There is a tab on the side that has to line up to the pipe. And then the last quarter inch is going to require a really good shuv.

 

Reassemble everything. But... before you put the handle back on? You need to make an adjustment. The cartridge can control how much hot water comes out to avoid children from getting burned. The cartridge will probably come with the hot water completely turned off. So, you need to make an adjustment if you want any hot water in your shower. Just pull and twist the white part on the end of the cartridge.

Screw the handle back on. Turn the water back on. And your drip will be gone!

 

Replacing the Clothes Washer Drain Hose

I have developed a regular schedule for changing the hot and cold washer hoses. However, I have never thought about changing the washer drain hose.

My washer was struggling to drain the water and I couldn't  figure out why. I looked at the drain hose and found it completely plugged with lint, gelled up detergent, and crud. It was disgusting!  And the crud filled the entire hose, end to end.

I purchased a universal hose from Lowes. The way these universal hoses work is you cut the part that connects to your washed at the correct diameter. This allows you to pick 1", 1 1/8" or 1 1/4" all depending on where you cut that connector.

 

Next, you want to unclamp the existing hose from the back of the washing machine. There is going to be some water in the hose, so, have a bucket ready.



Finally, after the new hose's connector is cut, attach it to the washing machine.

That's all there is to it! I wish I had known to add this to my regular washer maintenance. I would have replaced this drain hose before it got so bad!

Whirlpool Duet washer F21 SUD Error

I haven't kept this blog updated because it seems like I just keep doing all the things I have already blogged about. Just as soon as I fix one thing, something else breaks. It is a continual maintenance headache.

For example, the Whirlpool Duet Washer's F21 SUD error. I get this message every year or two and I do the same thing. But I realized I have never blogged about it before.

The F35 error means the water isn't draining from the washer fast enough. The reason is that most likely the drain's catch is plugged. Sometimes (believe it or not) a sock gets in there. Or, if you use too much detergent, you'll get a gel-like build up. Or lint. Whatever is blocking the drain? You have to clean it out. And it ain't fun. It is smelly and disguising, but is absolutely a DIY activity.

First step? Unplug the washer. Then, take the front panel off the washer. There are three screws at the bottom of the case, and then the cover lifts off.

The drain catch can be accessed by removing a large round thumb screwed cover... but wait...

If you unscrew that, up to three gallons of fowl smelling water is going to pour out. They have improved newer models so the access extends outside of the washer's base. My model? It is inside - which means unscrewing the cap will dump that fowl smelling water inside the bottom of your washer - not good. 

The solution in my washer is to remove the red tab that holds the cover in place, pop off the feet that connect it to the bottom of the washer, and then pull it forward as much as possible.

It will not pull forward as much as needed, so, you'll have to create something that will divert the water into a bucket instead of into the bottom of the washer. Perhaps use a funnel, or, cut off the bottom of a milk jug or something.

Also, line the area with old towels because things are likely to get wet!

When you are ready? Screw off the cover.

It is going to look gross and stink really bad (especially if you don't do this yearly!). You have to completely clean it and get it down to the plastic.

Next, check the pipe for any debris. Shine a flashlight in the hole and remove any debris. 

The pipe assembly connects to a plump. The pump connects to the right by a small hole in the pipe.

Stick your finger in that hole and feel for a rubber gasket. The gasket shouldn't be loose (a little loose might be OK). If it is loose, you'll have to get a repairman to fix it because the pump isn't working properly at evacuating the water.

That's it! Reassemble everything and you are back in business!

Fighting the weeds

It seems like it was snowing last weekend. And this weekend I am fighting weeds. The weeds are taking over everything! Thank God for Round Up!

I spent enough of my childhood pulling weeds. I do t want to be doing it as an adult. So I am happy to pay for Roundup.

Never ending house costs

You stretch your budget and enslave yourself to a mortgage. Move in to your palace. And then kick back and enjoy the home that now owns you, right? Wrong! You have just entered an arrangement with a money pit that will suck your wallet dry!

Take my neighbors for example. They bought a nice ten year old home. In the first year, they put in new sidewalks, landscaping, trees, and an air conditioner. In the second year, they black topped the driveway. And now I year three? They are replacing the "builder grade" windows.

Each of these projects cost thousands of dollars per year!

You might believe a 10 year old house wouldn't need much work done to it. But you would be surprised!

Replaced another flapper

It is always handy to keep an extra toilet flapper around to deal with leaky toilets, especially if your house has 3.5 baths. They are easy to replace:

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Sometimes the flapper will just get some dirt or debre on it that will prevent it from sealing. You can try cleaning the flapper if you want, or, it is easier (and not all that expensive) to just replace it.

Clean the tank

Everyone cleans the toilet bowl, but how many of us think to clean the tank?

Even though fresh water flows into the tank, it can be a breading ground for mold, germs, and crud. You can fix that problem by placing cleaning disks in the tank.

There are many different kinds and brands on the market. They all last several weeks, keeping the tank clean, and wash those cleaning chemicles into the bowl.

Filtrate air freshener

It is time to change the furnace filter.

I am trying something new: Filtrete Whole House Air Freshner by 3M. It hooks into the filter and then blows the scent throught the house.

I will let you know if it is any good in a few days.

Patching the driveway

It is bound to happen. Your beautiful driveway will get a pothole, collect water, and need to be patched.

If you have an asphalt driveway? Patching can be a lot of work and very expensive.

If you have a stone driveway, patching is simple! I just stop off at the hardware store and grab a bag of gravel, then dump it on the hole. Cheap and fast and done!

Another Storm Door Fix

We get a lot of wind at the house. And when a certain adult daughter opens the storm door without holding it? The wind grabs the door and tends to break things. This is the second repair this year!

Earlier this year, I had to replace the bottom closer. This time? It is the top closer. And I am replacing it with a heavy duty one.

The first step was to remove the old broken quick connect bracket.

Then attach the new one. The old one was plastic and this one is metal.

Next, I adjust the door attachment.

And then finally the new closet.

I am all set now until the next wind storm!

Roof Update #3

My house is not small. It has an attached inlaw so roofing it is almost like roofing two houses! We have received two estimate so far. Both estimates were $16,000 to tare off the roof and put a new one on. One quote included replacing the box vents with ridge vents, the other didn't.

$16,000 is a lot of money to unexpectedly cough up! If I were renting a town house, I could probably rent for a year for that cost! I am told I should only expect to get 15-18 years out of this 20 year roof. That means I am paying $1000 per year just for the roof over my head (literally).

I want to get one more quote and then we'll make our decision. So far, $16K with ridge vents is the winning bid. The American Dream of home ownership is a very expensive dream.

Lint for Lent

Remember the slogan: Lint for Lent, and you'll prevent a house fire by cleaning your dryer vent every year!

You might only have a short pigtail between your dryer and the outside wall. If that is the case? Throw away the pigtail and replace it with a new one. Most high capacity dryers want metail pigtails, not plastic or rubber.

My dryer vent is over 20 feet long of solid duct and passes through my basement. Cleaning this requires a shop vac, a drill, and a vent cleaning kit that includes a brush and extenders. The extenders connect to the drill, and the drill spins the brush.

When I installed the duct, I left myself access for cleaning, so, the first thing so needed to do was tear off that tape to get access.

You can see: it has only been a year and I have collected a lot of lint!

The brush goes into the duct along with a cap that will help create a vaccuum.

The cap fits over the duct.

The shop vac hose goes into the cap.

Then we are off to the races! The drill causes the brush to turn.

I attach extensions as I fish the brush down the duct.

When done, I tape the duct access. There are different kinds of metal tape to use: cold use and hot use. I didn't realize it and last year I used cold metal tape. The hot dryer exhaust caused the tape to come apart and spew lint in the basement. I learned my lesson! 

The dryer vent is cleaned for another year!